Rare KRAS-Mutant Cancer Clinical Trial Finder

Rare KRAS-Mutant Cancer Clinical Trial Finder

KRAS inhibitors showed dramatic efficacy in appendiceal adenocarcinoma — a rare cancer with almost no approved treatments — and six real patients with heavily pre-treated disease responded, demonstrating that KRAS-mutant rare cancers outside the mainstream (colon, lung, pancreatic) may be underserved by current trial infrastructure.

Build a clinical trial matching platform specifically for patients with rare KRAS-mutant cancers — appendiceal adenocarcinoma, ampullary cancer, rare GI adenocarcinomas, and others — that aggregates active trials of KRAS inhibitors and pan-RAS pathway therapies. The platform would allow patients and oncologists to search by cancer type and KRAS mutation subtype (G12D, G12C, G12V, pan-KRAS) to find trials that either explicitly include their cancer type or list eligibility criteria broad enough to include rare KRAS-mutant tumors.

A companion educational layer would explain the landscape of KRAS inhibitors currently in development, distinguish mutation-specific from pan-KRAS approaches, and provide accessible explanations of why KRAS mutation status matters for treatment selection. Patient testimonials and community forums would connect rare cancer patients who are often isolated by their diagnosis.

This problem is urgent: rare cancers often have no approved therapies, but their patients carry the same actionable mutations as common cancers. The rise of KRAS inhibitors creates a real opportunity for basket-trial inclusion or compassionate use, but navigating this landscape is enormously difficult for patients and even for oncologists who rarely see these tumor types. A focused tool that bridges rare-cancer patients to KRAS-targeting trial opportunities could meaningfully change outcomes.

Who Is This For?

Patients with rare KRAS-mutant cancers and their oncologists, particularly those with appendiceal, ampullary, or other rare GI tumors without approved targeted therapy options.

Skills & Tools Needed

• ClinicalTrials.gov API integration and data parsing
• Web application development (trial search and matching logic)
• Medical writing for patient-accessible content
• Knowledge of KRAS inhibitor pharmacology and mutation specificity
• UX design for patients navigating complex medical information

Feasibility

high — Trial aggregation and filtering is technically well-understood; the main effort is building accurate eligibility matching logic and maintaining trial data currency, both achievable with modest engineering effort.

Inspired by: KRAS inhibition is an effective therapy for appendiceal adenocarcinoma